Project SEAPHE’s efforts to collect anonymous data from public agencies and universities are often thwarted by spurious privacy arguments. Recently, a media campaign surrounding the Netflix Prize database has put the future collection and use of anonymous data on even shakier footing. At the recent Privacy Round table hosted by the Federal Trade Commission, the moderators and panelists uniformly agreed that data cannot ever be truly anonymous. Fearing that information flow might be severely and needlessly curtailed, Jane Yakowitz submitted the following public comments for the FTC’s consideration.Read more here.